LG notches record smartphone shipments on G3 strength

The G3 has boosted LG’s smartphone shipments to record levels and helped reverse three quarters of losses at its phone division, the electronics giant said Thursday.

LG Electronics said its LG Mobile Communications Co. shipped a record 14.5 million smartphones in the second quarter, marking a 20 percent increase from a year earlier.

LTE products accounted for more than one-third of all LG smartphones sold this year, LG Electronics said, announcing a 165 percent year-on-year increase in net profit for the quarter, to 412 billion Korean won (US$400 million).

Sales by the mobile unit were up 16 percent to 3.62 trillion Korean won, while its operating profit of 85.9 billion Korean won ended three consecutive quarters of losses.

“LG G3 sold very well in Korea in June, but outside of Korea the L Series III did well for us,” an LG spokesman wrote in an email.

The G3 is rolling out in North America and Europe this month and shipment numbers are not available yet, he added.

The company is also planning to roll out variations of the phone, including the G3 Beat, and other L Series models.

The G3 has a 13-megapixel camera with optical imaging stabilization, and uses an infrared beam to measure the distance to its subject.

The L Series III, on the other hand, are budget smartphones running Android 4.4 and led by the L90, which features a 4.7-inch display and a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor.

It’s unclear, however, whether the latest results have improved fifth-ranked LG’s standings in the global smartphone market.

According to data released by IDC at the end of April, LG was trailing Huawei Technologies’ and Lenovo’s shipments of roughly 13 million units each, with 12.3 million smartphones shipped in the first quarter. Samsung and Apple led the pack in first and second place, respectively.